I finally got around to watching The Salton Sea yesterday,and Dan has always claimed it to be a great film, but I think it's just good, but not great. Directed by D.J. Caruso, there is some stunning images and cinematography and Val's acting is great. He plays this undercover druggie guy trying to uncover the mystery behind the murder of his wife. In such a way it did have elements of Memento, but the thing that keeps me from saying this was a great film is that I thought in the last third of it, it just became more of a standard "thriller."
The opening scenes do a great job in terms of establishing a psychological exploration, and some of the dialogue is very well written. It also has some elements of Taxi Driver, but is no where in the league with Taxi Driver. Another druggie movie is The Panic in Needle Park, and it's been a while since I've seen that one, but I'm inclined to say it may be a little better. Perhaps not visually, but the story dealt more with the affects of drug addiction on the individual, more so than this film did, which turned out to be film with great potential, but ultimately became a thriller in the end. Overall I would still give it 8/10.
Here is the trailer.
